Avalanche News

Vegas Selects Pickard In Expansion Draft

by
Ryan Boulding
/ ColoradoAvalanche.com

The Vegas Knights selected Colorado Avalanche goaltender Calvin Pickard in the 2017 Expansion Draft, the NHL revealed on Wednesday during a special selection portion of the NHL Awards at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Terms of the NHL Expansion Draft stated that every team was required to expose at least two forwards, one rear guard and one netminder that are under contract for the 2017-18 season and have played a minimum of either 40 NHL games during the 2016-17 campaign or 70 NHL contests during the previous two seasons.

Additionally, players that have been under professional contract for the past three years were also eligible to be picked by the Golden Knights.

Vegas was also required to choose a minimum of 14 forwards, nine defensemen and three goalies, plus four additional players.

Selected by the Avalanche in the second round (49th overall) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Pickard spent parts of four seasons with the Lake Erie Monsters--Colorado's then AHL affiliate--before making his NHL debut on Oct. 16 at the Ottawa Senators. He was an emergency call up that day and relieved goaltender Reto Berra, who left the contest with an injury. Pickard made his first NHL start two nights later at the Montreal Canadiens.

Pickard played 16 NHL games in all during the 2014-15 campaign and upped that total to 20 during the 2015-16 season.

The following year found him with a permanent spot in the Avalanche lineup for the first time in his career, and he went on to play in 50 contests. He owns a 28-44-6 record, a .914 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average after 86 career NHL games. He's also posted three shutouts.

Pickard most recently represented Team Canada at the 2017 IIHF World Championship in Paris, France, and Cologne, Germany, where he won a silver medal while posting a 1.49 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage in seven contests. He won a gold medal with Canada at the 2016 event.